It’s a Bargain

(This is offered as a podcast as well, see below for the podcast player.) For anyone out there struggling with money, this will be good for you! Too many times, we are smacked in the face with what seems like a deal we can’t refuse, and we rush in and buy something, tempted by saving money, and in the process, we sabotage our wallet, our budget, and potentially add to any struggling you have with money.

Stores love to help us justify parting with our cash, and they do a damn good job of it, too. Just a few weeks ago, I got tricked myself! I was in my grocery store, and my favorite yogurt was on sale – 5 for $5! I was so excited. I didn’t really need 5, but since they are normally more expensive, I couldn’t resist the bargain, and picked out my favorite 5 flavors. Then I got to the cash register and felt like a big dummy. The yogurts came up as $1 each. So, I could have bought just 1 or 2 yogurts, not 5. I felt so duped and foolish that I couldn’t even find the words to tell the cashier to put 3 of them back. (Not to mention the long line behind me who would have been pissed off at me figuring out which 3 to get rid of!)

Other ways we get tricked are when we “buy one, get %50 off the second item.” That’s really 25% off each, and now, instead of spending, say $75, you’re roped in to parting with more cash on a second item you might not actually need. The worst thing you can do to your budget is to go shopping because there’s a sale, even though you do not need anything.

So, here is your Call to Action for today! PAY ATTENTION.

Try making a list of what you need, and waiting for a sale to buy it

Notice what are, and are not, good deals. If an item you need, such as paper towels, is on sale for, say, $7 for 4 rolls, when 2 rolls normally cost $6, you’ve just cut your per roll price from $3 down to about $1.75. Again, if you need and will use paper towels, great deal! But, if you use one roll of paper towels a year, then you’ve just made more clutter, and wasted money.

PAY ATTENTION especially, to your items being rung up. I can’t tell you how many times I have noticed a discount fail to be applied, and thank goodness I noticed it to be able to tell the cashier and get it fixed.